Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Mom to Mom | A Blog Post About Kellan. Finally!


This little man…




This little man has melted my heart right down to mush. Mush love is the best kind of love. The kind where you can’t form any words to describe how much you love someone, you just want to snuggle, kiss, squeeze and sometimes gobble them all up because you can't get enough of that love. That’s what I feel when I look at his face.

Sadly, I remember this one time when I was fearful to have a boy. When I was fearful to have another child take away my love from Addisyn. And then, God showed me. He gave me a boy who has already been making his place in this family and the character in my daughter to love on him quite possibly more than I love on him in one day, which in turn has made me love her more deeply. It continues to amaze me how much a heart can love. Just when I think that my heart is capped out and overflowing, it manages to stretch to double in size so I can love more. I think love is the most obvious sign of God’s existence… but that is for another blog post :-)  I am just thankful to Him for this kind of mush love in my life. 







I cannot believe it’s been four months. It seems like just a few weeks ago I sat sleep deprived and emotionally exhausted while I recovered in the small warm hospital room. I remember it was around 1 am, about five hours after Kellan made his entrance into this crazy world, and I had just inhaled a Wawa sub and chugged a Coca-cola after the pain meds finally began to work their magic. Steve understandably started to doze off and so I asked him to hand me Kellan before he fell asleep.  It was during this first moment of peace and quietness in that tiny hospital room where I began to fall deeply in love with my baby boy. I remember him being swaddled and wanting so badly to nurse him or do skin-to-skin with him so I removed the swaddle to feel him curled up on my chest; his tiny body in my arms and his head near my lips so I could kiss on him every minute. I needed that special bonding time with him in the quiet hours of our first morning together because the labor and his delivery were all very emotional for me and still resting heavily on my heart. I was remorseful about his delivery because I was in so much pain upon his arrival that I could barely smile, let alone hold him, when he first came into this world. I needed to make up that time during these first few hours of stillness in our hospital room. I remember tracing my finger over and over again on the bridge of his perfectly squished nose and then onto those pouty lips, alongside his plump rosy cheeks and down his baby wrinkled neck, taking random moments to close my eyes so I could clear the tears building up in my lashes. Thanking God for my son. My Son…




Okay, every mom is entitled to gush over their kids. That was my gushing.

Now it must be said that even though brother is by far the cutest little man on this earth (more gushing, but that’s it. I swear. ) he knows how to get attention and give me, the new chaotic and highly disorganized mommy of two, a little run for my money. His baby stage has been so much more difficult than Addisyn’s - reflux, colic, no sleep, and a thousand loads of laundry later, Kellan and his little chub-a-lub self has broken me down more times than I can count.  Just the other night after twenty minutes (yes, I said a measly TWENTY minutes) of his crying, I slammed my office door and screamed “Dang it!”, (except it didn’t sound like “dang”, but for mother reading purposes we will stick to that story). I screamed loud enough to make it feel like a good meltdown and then I paced the hallway until I calmed down. I clearly do not have it all together. Obvi! And I don’t think my house has been at all clean even once since he was born. I am convinced I do more laundry with his reflux then I will be doing when he and Addisyn are both involved in after-school sports.  Still, among all the meltdowns and craziness, there is pure contentment. 

It all seems a bit surreal sometimes. I hold Kellan today and kiss on his lips or see his smile and I am overwhelmed with these feelings of he is mine. I have literally tried to visualize what it would be like to have any other combination of children; girl then girl, boy then girl, boy then boy, and I can’t want anything differently. It seems a little weird to write this because I know that most, if not all, moms can’t imagine it any other way. But I am really trying to convince you that the feeling I have watching my son and my daughter grow up as Hart siblings is a, it-couldn’t-be-more-perfectly-created-for-me kind of feeling. It’s easy and peaceful. It feels complete. It feels meant to be.


With Love,

Stacy





 


I love him so much. I think this is a winner for the a canvas. I love his little lips and smirk.






Tuesday, March 12, 2013

William | 10 Days New | Delaware Newborn Photography

I am very excited to introduce little William to you. I was able to spend a lot of time with him a few weeks ago and he had a great photo debut. I think he is going to grow up loving watching the Phillies and Eagles with his parents. They happen to be huge Philly sports fans so we managed to sneak in a few relevant shots for the new family of three :-) 

Here are some sneak peeks of his photo shoot. Enjoy!




  










Contact me to book your newborn session today! Click HERE



Monday, March 4, 2013

Stacy Hart Photography | Rebranded

Where am I in this industry?  

I’ve been asking myself this question ever since I started my professional business two and a half years ago. I came into the photography industry with a camera, a blog, and no idea how to brand myself or what the expenses were going to be. I just thought I could improve on my skills and ask you all to join me on my journey.  Very early on in my “professional” career in 2010, I discovered wedding photographers Jasmine Star and Katelyn James and began dreaming of becoming a premier wedding photographer for this region.  I loved their work, but more than that I loved their business and their brand.  So I began switching gears and put my focus on weddings.  It made a ton of sense to me, really, because I LOVED to attend weddings, I am a huge hopeless romantic, and as cliché as it may seem, I love love. In 2011, my first full year in the business, I took on weddings for the first time and everything seemed to fall into place. I booked six weddings right off the bat without even marketing myself as  a wedding photographer and I quickly fell in love with every single part of it- even the ten hours of being on my feet in not-so- cute-but- entirely- cozy- wedding shoes.  My plan was to make 2012 my “it” year as Stacy Hart, Wedding Photographer and begin branding myself that way. Except sometimes plans don’t work out. Although 2012 was my first official full time year, I wasn’t putting in full time effort. I was blessed with news of my second pregnancy early 2012 and my business, and my blog for that matter, took another backseat while I tried to get through the ucky and exhaustive parts of my first and third trimesters. Instead of it being “the year of the wedding”, it ended up being the “year of reflection”.   I was discouraged and doubtful. I thought if I wasn’t a wedding photographer then I wouldn’t have a story to tell or a business to take pride in. I compared myself to other well branded wedding photographers; liking their ideas better than my own, and searched for a place I could fit in. I even resented having a business and being a mommy.  And just like being in a bad relationship, I began to lose sight of who I was as a person, not just a photographer.  This is when I realized I needed divine intervention.  In late 2012 I began to pray for my business. I consulted with my hubby and we spent hours upon hours talking out all of my dreams for Stacy Hart Photography. I began to ask myself all the right questions: Why is that I must brand myself as a wedding photographer? Why do I have a passion for weddings? What photography am I willing to give up for all weddings? And the big one, at what cost is being a wedding photographer to my family? During this time I began booking more newborns, portraits, and family sessions. And with each newborn and child session, I found I wasn’t confused and I was feeling at peace with where I was in my profession.   
This is where the branding started falling into place. You see, branding is not just a really cool logo and website, it is supposed to be a reflection of who I am.  I realized that while I was trying to book twenty weddings in one year, I was still so passionate about writing on my “mommy” blog. The two didn’t match. Most brides don’t relate to the musings of a mommy, but I wasn’t ready to give all that up because being a mommy and a wife is who I am. More than that, I didn’t want to give up photographing and posting pictures of all the things I loved to photograph; my children, your children, the love between a husband and wife who have been married for five years, or the love poured over a new little baby.  
-Palm to forehead, heavens open, trumpets sound, angels sing, light switch turns on-    
However you want to say it, I was unintentionally defining myself and my brand in this crazy competitive industry. When I realized where my business was already directed based on the passion I had as a mommy, I stopped fighting the wedding fight. And I thought to myself, why does the love or the pictures have to stop after the wedding? It doesn’t!  I photograph and write about my children and my husband all the time. I talk the most about my relationships with them and their relationship with each other because they bring me so much joy.
Over the past couple months I have watched close friends, family and complete strangers lose family members they love and I have been broken hearted about it. I have related to them purely because I am a mother and being a mom has been God given to me.  Here I was, trying to make my photography career about a huge event like a wedding day lwhen the whole point of my “One More for Love” blog was telling you all about my journey as a mom and how my love has multiplied ever since I have been married… A love by which we both had thrived, miraculously had multiplied.  Photographing the love after a wedding is also sooo important.
Today I am very excited to announce the new “Stacy Hart Photography” going forward. Something I have poured two and a half years of love into that now has a very specific direction…your children, your husband, your love.    
Because the love doesn’t stop after your vows…
With this very specific and huge change of direction in my business came a little change to the blog, website, and marketing material. I hope you check out the new site, and if you decide to book with me, I hope you will enjoy the whole new unique experience.  
What does this mean for my wedding photography? Well, I already have a few booked this year that I am thrilled about capturing and I even have a few inquiries out. To be honest, I don’t know if I can completely stop weddings, but starting in 2013 I am booking a limited number of them. You will not see weddings on my new site, but I do have a website just for my wedding portfolio if anyone should ask.
Click here to be redirected to my website.
A big thank you to Denise at Denise Tuttle Designs. She has sacrificed many hours away from her family to help make this rebrand happen. Also, to my husband who is my website guru and who supports everything about my business. Without you two, this would not have been possible!  

Kellan says thank you for stopping by!

 
 

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